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Low-key service in Meru as Bishop Silas Njiru buried in Italy
Felicity Kendi displays a picture of Bishop Emeritus Silas Silvius Njiru, who succumbed to Covid-19 in Italy, during a funeral service at St Joseph Cathedral in Meru County on April 30, 2020. PHOTO | CHARLES WANYORO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Bishop Salesius Mugambi, held a low key funeral mass, which lasted only one hour and ran concurrently with the burial in Italy presided over by a solitary priest.
- An elaborate ceremonial burial inside the cathedral’s crypt — a stone chamber beneath the floor of the church — will be conducted next Tuesday.
- Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi eulogised the bishop as a very wise man of high integrity.
In his heyday as the head of the Meru diocese, Bishop Emeritus Silas Silvius Njiru led a life full of pomp and colour.
Always happy to mingle with people, the bishop at times would traverse the then sprawling diocese in single day, for mass in Mandera, Wajir and Garissa and then spare time for evening prayers at his residence in Meru.
April 30, the day of his funeral service in Meru following his death in Italy on Tuesday, was a stark reverse of his engagements.
In Turin, Italy, as was the case back home, only a handful of people attended his burial at a church cemetery, owing to restrictions on public gatherings to contain the spread of Covid-19, which killed the 92-year-old.
LOW-KEY
Bishop Njiru served in Meru from 1976 to 2004.
His successor, Bishop Salesius Mugambi, held a low key funeral mass, which lasted only one hour and ran concurrently with the burial in Italy presided over by a solitary priest.
He said only a few priests were being allowed to attend burials in Italy, where over 27,000 people have succumbed to the virus.
“The body was taken from the mortuary and accompanied by one priest. You say the prayers and then the body is left to those who man the cemetery to inter it according to traditions,” explained Bishop Mugambi.
Nuns sing a hymn at St Joseph Cathedral in Meru County during the funeral service for Bishop Emeritus Silas Silvius Njiru, who succumbed to Covid-19 in Italy, on April 30, 2020. PHOTO | CHARLES WANYORO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Only four priests, five nuns and five members of staff, who reside within the St Joseph Cathedral in Meru attended the local service, in face masks and with social distancing as required by the government.
Bishop Mugambi was assisted by Fathers David Kaberia, David Murungi, Justin Mwiti and Jacob Kaburu.
CEREMONY
An elaborate ceremonial burial inside the cathedral’s crypt — a stone chamber beneath the floor of the church — will be conducted next Tuesday.
Bishop Mugambi said they were consulting the government to know the number of people to attend the mass that he will preside over alongside Bishops Paul Kariuki of Embu and his Isiolo counterpart Antony Ireri Mukobo.
“We shall include the bishops or their representatives because he served both dioceses and I know his work is still felt in the areas. Because the body is not here, we will take his picture and put it in the crypt inside the cathedral."
Bishop Njiru, who hailed from Kevote village in Embu County, was among three priests from a home for the elderly who were under treatment for the virus.
He had been staying at the Blessed Joseph Allamano house in Alpignano, Turin, following his retirement.
Meru Bishop Salesius Mugambi (left) leads a funeral service at St Joseph Cathedral for Bishop Emeritus Silas Silvius Njiru, who succumbed to Covid-19 in Italy, on April 30, 2020. PHOTO | CHARLES WANYORO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
KIRAITU'S REMARKS
Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi eulogised the bishop as a very wise man of high integrity.
“During his tenure as bishop of Meru, he provided exemplary leadership, not only to the Catholics in Meru but also to all the people of the county," he said.
"He contributed greatly to the growth of the Catholic Church in Meru and in Kenya. He was truly a man of God who always spoke the truth and always reminded us that only the truth shall set us free."
